Meeting Miss Mystic (39 page)

Maggie put her hand on her friend Paul’s shoulder, bracing on the foot rung of the bar stool, and held up her own full beer with her other hand. The crowd grew still as all eyes turned to look at the petite redhead balancing precariously on a bar stool.

“May there always be work for your hands to do.

May your purse always hold a coin or two.”

She turned toward the door and then grinned back at the crowd.

“May the sun always shine upon your window pane…”

They chuckled with approval as she added,

“May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.

May the hand of a friend always be near to you and

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.”

She beamed at the crowed, licking her lips as her beer teetered in her wobbly grasp and added with flair, “
Alba gu brath
!”

The crowd roared in approval, clinking their glasses together and chugging down their beers, none the wiser that they were all drinking to Scotland’s long life. The jukebox was plugged in again and the raucous fiddles of Mumford & Sons thundered over the cheering of the crowd.

That’s precisely the time the room started to spin.

Even Paul didn’t notice as Maggie started to lose her balance, swaying as she finished her beer and starting to lower the hand that held the glass. Maggie closed her eyes, feeling the swirls starting, knowing she was likely going to fall and letting her muscles go to jelly to lessen the impact. She certainly didn’t have enough strength to stop herself.

She heard the screech of the stool’s wooden legs as it skittered a short way across the floor and heard the hard clunk of her empty pint glass hitting the wooden bar. She looked down, as though in slow motion, to see Paul’s horrified eyes, his arm flailing upward to grab her before she fell backward.

And then suddenly, a hard, warm wall slammed into her back and strong arms encircled her. She let her head fall back until it rested on the flannel shelf of a shoulder, and she heard his voice, soft and urgent in her ear, “I’ve got you, Maggie May.”

His breath on her skin made her eyes flutter closed and she leaned back into him. When her feet hit the floor, he released her, reaching for the bar in front of her and holding onto it, protecting her from the jostling crowd by trapping her between his chest and the bar as she caught her breath.

“You okay?”

His lips were so close to her ear she trembled lightly. Every time he took a breath his chest pushed into her back and she was having trouble concentrating on anything else.

“Mags?”

The concern in his voice deserved an answer, so she took a deep, ragged breath and turned around, looking up to find familiar light blue eyes searching hers with worry.

Nils Lindstrom.

Over six feet tall and built like a lumberjack, Nils towered over her. He wore a plaid flannel shirt over a white t-shirt, both tucked into standard Levis that were a touch too tight in the front, showing a bulge along the inseam of his right thigh.

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and her shoulders slumped with the wave of longing that crashed over her. Nils Lindstrom was one of her circle of friends, but—unbeknownst to him—he’d also pretty much owned her heart for the past four years.

He hooked a finger under her chin and drew her eyes up. “You going to be sick?”

She stared up at him, wishing for the thousandth time that he could see her as more than a friend. Of course he would have been somewhere in the bar watching her make a fool of herself standing on bar stools and yelling toasts in Gaelic. She reached up to wipe her lips with the back of her hand, feeling her already-flaming cheeks heat up like a pagan bonfire. She was drunk, she almost face planted into the bar floor, and he was making sure she wasn’t going to vomit all over him. Oh, for the love of—Could she never, ever catch a break with this man?

“I’m fine,” she said tightly, her accent more pronounced in her ears than usual. She turned her neck to her left to detach his finger.

Her friend Paul grinned at her sheepishly over Nils’s arm. “Sorry I didn’t catch you in time, Mags.”

Maggie grinned at her drinking buddy. “No harm done.”

“
Could’ve
been harm done.” Nils’s voice was thick with censure. When Maggie looked up at him, he was eyeing Paul with annoyance.

Paul Johansson was the best friend of Nils’s younger brother, Lars.

“Wasn’t Paul’s fault if I chose to get up on a bar stool and act like a drunkard.” She gestured to the bartender for another beer.

“Another, Maggie?”

“Lots of anothers,” she answered, annoyed her words sounded so jumbled. Not that she minded, really, but she wondered how long Nils planned to keep her imprisoned between his arms. Must have been the beer that prompted her to ask him. “So, how long are ye’ trappin’ me here, Nils? Keen to babysit me t’night, are ye?”

His blue eyes captured hers, searching and intense, narrowing at her tone. “A
thank-you
wouldn’t be remiss, Maggie May.”

Maggie couldn’t explain why his words got her back up, but they did. She didn’t want to thank him for saving her. She wanted him to see her as a woman, as more than just a friend. She wanted him to kiss her. She wanted him to take her back to his place or over to hers and tear her clothes off. Preferably with his teeth.

“Thaaanks,” she said slowly, licking her lips in a way she hoped was seductive, but they were so dry she re-licked them a few more times before catching herself. From the gaping look on his face, she was pretty sure she’d somehow managed to look more like a lizard than a
femme fatale
.

Nils stared at her lips for a moment then flicked his eyes to hers. His nostrils flared lightly and his jaw pulsed once, twice, before he dropped his arms and turned to Paul. “Do a better job looking out for her.”

Then he turned on his heel without another word, parting the crowd as he headed out of the bar.

WHAT WERE YOU EXPECTING
Heart of Montana, #5
Maggie Campbell & Nils Lindstrom’s story

Available September 2014

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

KATY REGNERY, Amazon bestselling author, has always loved telling a good story and credits her mother with making funny, heartwarming tales come alive throughout her childhood. A lifelong devotee of all romance writing, from Edwardian to present-day, it was just a matter of time before Katy tried her hand at writing a love story of her own.

As it turned out, one love story turned into a series of six
Heart of Montana
romances, following the love lives of the Yellowstone-based Lindstrom siblings. When Katy’s fans asked her to turn up the heat, she cheerfully started her
Enchanted Places
series, which offers steamier romance to her readers. Katy is also proud to offer a standalone romance,
The Vixen and the Vet
, just in time for Fourth of July 2014.

Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, and two dogs create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories of all are the messy and unexpected ones.

Did you enjoy this book? Drop us a line and say so! We love to hear from readers, and so do our authors. To connect, visit
www.boroughspublishinggroup.com
online, send comments directly to
[email protected]
, or friend us on Facebook and Twitter. And be sure to check back regularly for contests and new releases in your favorite subgenres of romance!

Are you an aspiring writer? Check out
www.boroughspublishinggroup.com/submit
and see if we can help you make your dreams come true.